Transportation Systems Management and Operations in Smart Connected Communities

Chapter 1. Transportation Systems Management and Operations (TSMO) in Smart Connected Communities

Introduction

Context

Our lives, and the way we live them, are changing each day to become more connected to existing and emerging technologies. Autonomous and connected vehicle pilot programs are proliferating and mobility options continue to expand with the growing popularity of Transportation Network Services that support ride-sharing options. We are increasingly dependent on real-time information about the status of the transportation system and other infrastructure. At the heart of many of these changes is our ability to capture real-time data and share it through cloud-based or otherwise connected networks. These networks of shared data provide access to information about local infrastructure that control systems and inform system managers about current and anticipated conditions. This connectivity includes a wide variety of public and private sector services, including transportation, energy, emergency services, health services, government services, and many others. Moreover, advanced analytics and algorithms integrate data from many sources to predict and manage multiple resources to ensure safety, security, efficiency, reliability, and economic vitality while meeting the needs and ever increasing demands and expectations of system users, including traditionally underserved populations.

The collection of connected activities and technologies found in many cities and communities and emerging in many others is the foundation for smart, connected communities—a term which is described in greater detail in this primer. Within this document, the terms "Smart City" or "Smart Cities" appear where it is taken from other documents or as a direct quote to assist in understanding the context, opportunities, and possibilities for transportation systems management and operations (TSMO) within a smart, connected community. This primer provides an overview of how smart, connected communities build on what transportation system operators already do in terms of interagency collaboration, data collection and data sharing, and use of innovative technology. It also describes how transportation system operators can leverage other aspects of smart, connected communities to advance transportation systems management and operations.

Purpose and Objective

The primary purpose of this primer is to illustrate the implications of smart, connected communities for TSMO and to identify, through examples, what it means to manage and operate the transportation system in a smart, connected community. The primer will help both transportation planners and operators generate ideas for how they can take advantage of the expanded data, technology, and cross-sector collaboration opportunities of smart, connected communities so that they advance TSMO and will also assist agency leadership and others in policy making positions within these cities and communities.

The audience for the primer includes transportation system managers, operators, and planners from State and local departments of transportation (DOT) and other roadway operating agencies. It also includes metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs), transit agencies as well as senior agency leadership and other policy decision makers. This includes elected officials, who will be engaged in major investment decisions and other plans that are needed to produce a well-conceived and wellconnected transportation system within the context of the larger city or community.

Overview of Primer

The primer is comprised of two major sections: Chapter 1 provides an overview of TSMO, descriptions of the characteristics of smart, connected communities, and a discussion of how smart, connected communities and TSMO interact to their mutual benefit.

Chapter 2 offers a variety of illustrative TSMO examples in the context of smart, connected communities. These include real world and realistic scenarios that consider various functional areas, such as traffic incident response, parking management, energy management, transit and shared mobility, urban delivery services, arterial intersection control, and emergency transportation operations. Chapter 2 concludes with a summary of the challenges and limitations associated with TSMO in smart, connected communities, a discussion of how planning for operations fits within the context of smart, connected communities, and a call to action highlighting potential emerging issues.

What is Transportation Systems Management and Operations (TSMO)?¹

TSMO Overview

Transportation systems management and operations, or TSMO, encompasses a broad set of strategies that aim to optimize the safe, efficient, and reliable use of existing and planned transportation infrastructure for all modes and geographical areas, including cities, communities, corridors, and subareas. TSMO is approached from a systems perspective, which means that these strategies are coordinated with related strategies and across multiple jurisdictions, agencies, and modes. TSMO strategies include, but are not limited to, transit management, traffic signal coordination, traffic incident management, and connected and automated vehicle deployment. TSMO includes efforts to operate the multi-modal transportation system and activities to manage travel demand.

TSMO proactively addresses a variety of transportation system user needs by:

• Influencing travel demand in terms of location, time, and intensity of demand.
• Effectively managing the traffic density or transit use.
• Anticipating and responding to planned and unplanned events (e.g., traffic incidents, work zones, inclement weather, and special events).
• Providing travelers with high-quality traffic and weather information.
• Ensuring that the unique needs of the freight community are considered and included in all of the above.

TSMO strategies are supported by both institutional and technology-based activities. For example, TSMO is enabled by a memoranda of agreement among agencies, operational policies and procedures, and shared resources (e.g., interoperable communications systems, centralized traffic signal operations, and closed circuit television video sharing).

What are the Benefits of Transportation Systems Management and Operations?

TSMO strategies have allowed transportation agencies to address transportation issues in the nearterm, with lower-cost solutions. TSMO strategies deliver a variety of benefits and are evaluated based on broader transportation objectives. These include:

• Safer travel: For example, freeway ramp metering has been demonstrated to reduce crashes by 15 to 50 percent.
• More free time: Among other time-saving TSMO strategies, traffic signal retiming decreases delay on roads by 13 to 94 percent, and transit system priority (TSP) reduces transit delay by 30 to 40 percent.
• Improved reliability: TSMO strategies improve the predictability of travel times and help reduce unexpected delays with incident management, road weather management, work zone management, and other strategies. This enables the public and freight shippers to better plan for travel times and avoid the need to "pad" travel times to avoid missing meetings or other important events.
• Less wasted fuel: Traffic incident management (TIM) programs help clear incidents safely and quickly. TIM is one of the TSMO strategies that help reduce time lost and fuel wasted in traffic backups. For example, Georgia's TIM program (NaviGAtor) reduced annual fuel consumption by 6.83 million gallons per year. National studies have shown that integrating traveler information with traffic and incident management systems could improve fuel economy by about 1.5 percent.
• Cleaner air: TSMO strategies result in cleaner air by encouraging alternative modes of transportation (e.g., transit, ridesharing, biking, walking, and telecommuting) and reducing excess idling due to congested bottlenecks. Electronic toll collection reduced harmful emissions at Baltimore, Maryland toll plazas by 16 to 63 percent.
• Improved livability: Some TSMO strategies provide a diverse population base with accessible and affordable transportation options by focusing on non-facility/non-vehicletype goals (e.g., transit accessibility, bicycle and pedestrian mode share, carbon intensity, transportation affordability, land consumption, bicycle and pedestrian safety, and level of service). TSMO strategies improve accessibility and mobility to services such as hospitals, employment, and recreational sites.
• Economic vitality: TSMO strategies offer economic benefits primarily through the reduction of unproductive time spent by drivers and freight carriers in congestion. That is time that can be used for more economically productive activities. Additionally, congestion reduction leads to people and goods getting to markets faster.

The Defining Characteristics of Smart Connected Communities

The literature is filled with definitions, descriptions, and examples of smart, connected communities. The Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) defines a Smart Community as "a city, county, town, neighborhood, or any other collection of people whose lives are enriched by technology and the gathering, processing, analyzing, and use of secure data."² Figure 1 summarizes the ITE perspective on smart mobility goals in a smart community. Note that many of these goals are overlapping and mutually reinforcing and impacting communities well beyond the transportation system, and that effective TSMO is critical to achieving many of these goals.

Figure 1. Illustration. Smart communities transportation framework developed by the Institute of Transportation Engineers.
Source: LeadershipITE 2017.

Smart, connected communities have also been characterized in terms of the twelve vision elements shown in figure 2.³ While technology alone is not sufficient for a community to become a smart, connected community, the technology elements shown in figure 2 are essential to the vision. Information and communications technology (ICT) enables innovation in the way these communities carry out the functions and activities that improve safety, enhance mobility, increase reliability, address climate change, and improve the lives of those who live, work, visit, and pass through the city or community.

The foundation for thinking about smart, connected communities is that it is about meeting people's needs. Mid-sized cities throughout the Nation were challenged to share ideas for creating an "integrated, first-of-its-kind smart transportation system that would use data, applications, and technology to help people and goods move faster, cheaper, and more efficiently."⁴

While we may think of smart, connected communities as those deploying advanced technology across a gamut of applications ranging from transportation to trash collection (and many more!), the primary motivation for smart, connected communities is a desire to improve the lives of the people who live, work, visit, and pass through the city. These improvements can come in many forms, some directly affecting people—such as transportation—and others that are indirect, including the infrastructure required to support innovations that enable the more visible improvements.

Figure 2. Chart. Vision elements for smart, connected communities.⁵
Source: USDOT, ITS JPO.

One of the key pillars of smart, connected communities is connectivity, and this can come in many forms in transportation: connecting people to jobs through seamless transportation services, connecting transportation data across modes and service providers, and connecting private and public vehicles both to each other and to transportation and municipal infrastructure (e.g., parking, health care, and education).

Smart, connected communities are not defined by a single attribute. They are a combination of many attributes and cannot be defined in terms of specific technologies, processes, or opportunities. However, there are several characteristics that mark emerging smart, connected communities. One view of a smart, connected community is to consider the desired characteristics (which reflect community values) and the tools or enablers needed to realize these desired characteristics. The Smart City Wheel developed by Boyd Cohen has become a widely accepted international tool for identifying smart cities based on the six dimensions and related working areas shown in figure 3.

Figure 3. Graphic. The Smart City Wheel developed by Boyd Cohen has become a widely accepted international tool for identifying smart cities based on the six dimensions and related working areas.⁶
Source: Boyd Cohen.

Note that for "Mobility," the Smart City Wheel includes mixed-modal access, prioritized and nonmotorized mobility options, and integrated ICT. The indicators and metrics for mobility are directly relevant to TSMO since transportation planners and system managers need to anticipate greater emphasis on these indicators and rely on a variety of sensors, networks, and communication linkages to enable, facilitate, and monitor how well a smart, connected community embraces and advances these attributes.

These mobility indicators and metrics for TSMO in smart, connected communities may include:⁷

• Efficient Transportation.
  • Clean-energy transportation, as measured by:
    • Miles of bicycle paths and lanes per 100,000 people.
    • Number of shared bicycles per capita.
    • Number of shared vehicles per capita.
    • Number of electrical vehicles (EV) charging stations within the city.
    • Multimodal access.
  • Public transportation, as measured by:
    • Annual number of public transit trips per capita.
    • Percent non-motorized transportation trips of total transport.
    • Integrated fare system for public transportation.
  • Use of available capacity, as measured by:
    • Presence of demand-based pricing (e.g., congestion pricing, variably priced toll lanes, variably priced parking spaces).
    • Travel time reliability (e.g., planning time index and truck travel time reliability).
    • Presence of incentives for higher occupancy trips (e.g., dedicated high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) and van pool lanes).
• Technology Infrastructure.
  • Smart cards, as measured by:
    • Percent of total revenue from public transit obtained via unified smart card systems.
  • Access to real-time information, as measured by:
    • Percent of traffic signals connected to real-time traffic management system.
    • Presence of real-time pricing, schedules, and travel time information for multiple modes.
    • Number of public transit services that offer real-time information to the public: bus, regional train, metro, rapid transit system (e.g., bus-rapid transit, tram), and sharing modes (e.g., bike sharing, car sharing).
    • Availability of multimodal transit app with at least three integrated services.

While the benefits associated with smart city concepts and characteristics accrue to the residents of and visitors to these communities, much of the planning, collaboration, financing, and technology that enable integration and data sharing rely on public sector leadership and investment. Information sharing is at the heart of smart, connected communities, including information sharing between transportation agencies and other public sector entities, and with many private sector interests. Smart, connected communities are characterized by pervasive and persistent information sharing based on data collected by sensors and communicated through a robust network that captures, filters, processes, and presents information in forms that are relevant to system managers and decision makers. Information is also shared with system users (e.g., travelers, shippers, employers, retailers, event managers, law enforcement) who use mobility data to anticipate, plan for, and respond to needs for mobility (motorized and non-motorized).

Smart Connected Communities and TSMO Working Together

Smart, connected communities have common features across several key building blocks, which are the prerequisites for realizing the benefits that TSMO can bring to smart, connected communities. These building blocks include:

Organizations (Institutional arrangements and use of expanded data and technology)—Smart, connected communities, including transportation agencies and related services, recognize the need to move from stovepipes and organizational silos, and frequent confrontation between public and private sector interests, to a more collaborative and inclusive approach of developing goals and objectives and strategies for achieving them. A more collaborative approach leads to institutional agreements and arrangements for data sharing that protect individual interests while realizing the collective vision. For transportation, this may involve infrastructure investments and data sharing agreements among public agencies and with some private sector services and third party data providers (e.g., transportation network companies, transportation data aggregators, health systems, schools, employers, public utilities, event managers, major employers). Important considerations for increasing organizational collaboration include:

• Collaboration among public agencies (e.g., transportation, law enforcement, emergency responders, public schools and hospitals, public utilities) and with private sector entities. Are there open channels of communication and institutional arrangements that facilitate coordination and decision making that include key stakeholders? Is there a common vision for the community in terms of serving public and private interests? What responsibilities and authority do these entities possess and do they have adequate technical support to identify, evaluate, and select innovations that will benefit the community at large?
• Perceptions of risks and rewards. Public sector entities typically make investments that produce public good; private sector entities look for return on investment in terms of owner or shareholder value. These perspectives lead to different perceptions of risks, since the benefits of many public sector investments accrue to the community and are difficult to monetize, especially in the near term. TSMO strategies that support greater connectivity between public and private sector entities can often help employers attract and retain employees and access information that can help them provide products and deliver services more efficiently, including more efficient goods movement.
• Time horizons for public investment in connectivity and data sharing. Public sector agencies (including MPOs) look years to decades ahead because the nature of investments have long-term implications and may be difficult to reverse or terminate once begun. While some elements of the smart, connected community may require substantial infrastructure investments, TSMO strategies may be more attractive to private sector interests because they can be implemented in a much shorter timeframe and may have public/private partnership elements that attracts private sector investment and support (e.g., high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes, data sharing, smart parking)

Connectivity (among public agencies, public infrastructure, vehicles, system users, buildings, private service and information providers)—Connectivity is the hallmark of smart, connected communities and includes both the institutional connectivity and the technology that enables connections between and among transportation services and with other functions (e.g., health care, schools, special events, major incidents/advisories). Institutional connectivity is a prerequisite for data sharing agreements and protocols and related technologies that enable innovations in network connectivity that are required to push or pull data between data sources for sharing, analysis, and decision support.

Data (data underlie connectivity and expand situational awareness)—Smart, connected communities rely on capturing and sharing high-resolution, real-time data to support a wide range of operational and tactical decisions by both infrastructure managers and system users. For transportation, these data range from individual vehicle data (e.g., shared between vehicles and with the transportation infrastructure) and data about infrastructure systems (e.g., roadway physical and weather conditions, signal system status, lane controls, emissions, incidents, travel times). Infrastructure data come from multiple sources including: smart roadway lighting (e.g., lights that are responsive to traffic volume as well as ambient light and weather conditions and may include video cameras and noise detection), integrated traffic signals that are aware of traffic flows, and imbedded roadway sensors that sense both traffic flows and roadway conditions, and other sources. These data are the inputs that are used for both real-time decision making and to provide the database that supports investment decisions in improvements in TSMO.

Technology (includes sensors, networks, hardware, decision support systems, machine learning programs, analytical methods/software, communication protocols, visualization, and displays)—Technology is often viewed as the "leader" in smart, connected communities and is clearly the enabler of many of the benefits to be realized in smart, connected communities. However, technology only offers the opportunity to realize these benefits once the institutional will and collective imagination provide the foundation for adopting and implementing technological strategies that can benefit individuals and the community at large. Technology runs throughout smart, connected communities and includes the sensors, transmitters, receivers, protocols, security, standards, analytical tools, displays, decision support, communications, and the training and user support needed to deploy and operate technology effectively.

Smart, connected communities build on TSMO strategies in terms of interagency collaboration, data collection and sharing, and use of innovative technology. The bi-directional communication of information between different functions within a community or city is what makes smart, connected communities. Table 1 highlights the contrast in deployment of TSMO strategies within a conventional context and that of a smart, connected community.

As can be observed from the descriptions of TSMO and of smart, connected communities, TSMO is a natural partner within the smart, connected communities framework. Figure 4 shows some of the features of both smart, connected communities and TSMO and illustrates how the data and information flowing within a smart, connected community supports TSMO and how TSMO informs and supports the mobility needs of the city or community. In many cases, the data flows from TSMO functions (e.g., incident detection) will also inform other functions within the community (e.g., emergency response and hospital emergency departments) in real time so that both the harm to people and the impact on the community is minimized. V2X, which stands for vehicle-to-everything communications, includes vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), vehicle-to-pedestrian, and vehicle-to-network communications and will support TSMO and other smart, connected community functions. Additionally, TSMO may inform travelers about access to other smart, connected community functions and capabilities (e.g., access to smart grid features such as net metering for parked electric vehicles). TSMO can aid smart, connected communities by enhancing mobility for a diverse population that may encounter mobility barriers due to physical impediments (human or infrastructure), limited access to transportation services, or other barriers that produce inequity among residents.

Working with other smart, connected community functions, TSMO planners and operators can contribute to achieving community goals and objectives where improving mobility for people and goods is central to achieving them. This includes improving mobility in the roadway network (e.g., adaptive signal systems on arterials) as well as strategies for managing demand and expanding mobility choices.

Figure 4. Chart. TSMO links mobility with other functions in a smart, connected community.

Finally, advances in TSMO often depend on the internal processes, institutional relationships and collaborative arrangements among stakeholders that are also integral to developing and implementing other smart, connected community functions. These arrangements can be leveraged to advance TSMO concepts that support other community functions.

Several U.S. communities are making strides toward becoming smart, connected communities as reported by elected officials and transportation agency leaders during an ITE interview series:⁸

• Portland, OR – Installation of traffic sensors on street lighting and smart traffic signals at intersection approaches. Traffic signals will respond to actual traffic conditions in real time, resulting in shorter delays at intersections while also collecting traffic data, 24 hours a day.
• New York City, NY – Utilizing alternate transportation modes and introducing new technology to aging infrastructure and a complicated and busy network. This resulted in decreasing fatalities, time saving in bus routes, and an increased use of new transit options.
• Austin, TX – Partnering between the City of Austin and Capital Metro (transit agency) to implement their Smart Mobility Roadmap.⁹ The roadmap includes emerging technologies and policies in the areas of shared mobility, electric vehicles, connected and autonomous vehicles, data, and land use. Their work is focused on creating better safe and equitable outcomes for people and businesses. The City of Austin is conducting a first and last mile electric vehicle pilot program with Capital Metro and a local non-profit. They received a one million dollar grant from the U.S. Department of Energy and recently launched an electricassist pedi-cab program as part of the pilot.¹⁰
• Edmonton, Alberta – The City of Edmonton and its Federal, Provincial, and university partners, started a connected vehicles testbed and has used it to test transit priority and to identify where it would work on key corridors. They are also working on developing an automated vehicle testbed. Bringing electric, connected and automated vehicles to the city. A hotel and resort company has also come to the table with an interest in testing automated guest shuttles. The city is working to making sure it has the right policies in place to leverage the benefits that come with the emerging technology.